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Broncos will face some Ravens who sat out the previous meeting

Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis performs his pregame ritual before an AFC wild-card playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Baltimore. Lewis announced his retirement early this week. (Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun )

A month ago, Ray Lewis was a hopeless bystander on his home field as the Broncos ripped through his Baltimore Ravens.

Lewis, arguably the best middle linebacker in NFL history, will be an active participant in the Ravens' next game against the Broncos, which will be Saturday afternoon in a divisional-round AFC playoff game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Bernard Pollard, a quality Ravens safety, also was inactive four weeks ago when the Broncos jumped out to a 31-3, fourth-quarter lead in Baltimore before coasting to victory.

Pollard was back knocking alligator arms into star receiver Reggie Wayne on Sunday as the Ravens decisively beat the Indianapolis Colts 24-9 in a wild-card game to earn a rematch with the Broncos in the next round.

"I think it's going to be a lot harder than when we faced them the first time," Broncos and former Ravens receiver Brandon Stokley said Sunday night. "They had a lot of injuries, especially defensively. I think a lot of those guys are back now. When they've got all their guys, they've got a great defense, especially in the red zone. And that's what hurt Indy."

There is also reason to believe the Ravens will be much improved offensively from the dysfunctional group that got blown up by Denver's D on Dec. 16 at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium.

In the days leading up to that game, the Ravens had made the unusual decision of firing offensive coordinator Cam Cameron despite the team's 9-3 record. Cameron was replaced by Jim Caldwell who, in his days as Peyton Manning's coach with the Indianapolis Colts, never called the plays.

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It didn't help the Ravens that Joe Flacco fumbled away a quarterback sneak on the game's first possession after he was belted by Broncos defensive tackle Justin Bannan. Or that Flacco turned a first-and-goal from the 4 into a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown by Broncos cornerback Chris Harris right before halftime.

The Ravens came back the next week, though, to destroy the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants 33-14, then got an emotional lift from Lewis this past weekend.

The Denver Post's NFL reporters post analysis, notes and more on this blog focusing on the Denver Broncos.

Not only did Lewis return from a triceps injury that ends the year for most any other NFL player, he announced he would retire at season's end.

This one's for Ray!

"Indianapolis had a phenomenal year," Bannan said. "They went through a lot, but with Ray coming back, I knew that was it. They were not going to lose with Ray Lewis coming back with a torn triceps in his final home game."

NFL romanticists may have been pulling for a Colts-Broncos matchup. Manning, the Broncos' quarterback, played 13 seasons with the Colts before missing his 14th season last year because of a neck injury. Rather than bring Manning back and build around him, the Colts released him to free agency and used their No. 1 draft pick on quarterback Andrew Luck.

Manning-Luck would have been one local tie-in between the two teams. Another would have been Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, the Boulder native who missed most of this season to receive leukemia treatments. Still, the Colts finished 11-5, a remarkable turnaround from their 2-14 record last year.

"I commend Chuck Pagano," said Bannan, who played his college ball at the University of Colorado.

"He's a good friend of mine. I think he's one of the best guys in the world. You can see how the guys responded to him with Chuckstrong. The fact the Colts got to where they were was unbelievable. It shows that it does often come down to belief and faith, because the numbers said they shouldn't have been there. They made it happen."

Pagano was back for the playoffs, but ironically, Bruce Arians, the Colts' offensive coordinator who became the team's interim head coach, was hospitalized in Baltimore with flu-like symptoms Sunday and could not attend the playoff game.

Instead, the divisional-round playoff story line will focus on two of the game's icons: Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis. Manning's teams have defeated Lewis' Ravens nine consecutive games.

Baltimore's strength: The Ravens' offense is diverse. Rookie running back Bernard Pierce (103 yards on 13 carries Sunday against the Colts) gives the Ravens a speed-size option in the running game to go with Ray Rice. When veteran QB Joe Flacco gets support from the running game, he's tough. Flacco has thrown for at least 282 yards in seven games this season, all wins.

Baltimore's weakness: The Ravens' defense gave up 419 yards to the Colts on Sunday, including 152 rushing. It was the sixth time this season the Ravens allowed at least 400 total yards and the sixth time they allowed at least 160 rushing.

Key to Denver's victory: With guard Chris Kuper and offensive tackle Ryan Clady dealing with injuries, protecting quarterback Peyton Manning will be the No. 1 issue the Broncos face. The Ravens blitzed Colts rookie Andrew Luck a lot Sunday, sacking him three times. If the Ravens are convinced Denver's offensive line is banged up, they will send extra pass rushers after Manning. That's their best hope of slowing Denver's offense. Jeff Legwold, The Denver Post